Beyond the screen: Storytelling can help tackle GBVF, says Letsike

Deputy Minister Mmapaseka Steve Letsike has urged South Africa's creative industry to leverage storytelling as a means to combat gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Addressing the inaugural Within Collective: Beyond the Screen – A Catalyst for Change event, Letsike highlighted the nation's ongoing struggle with GBVF and emphasized the need for a shift from awareness to transformative action.

While governmental and law enforcement bodies are responsible for addressing GBVF, Letsike stressed that society cannot rely solely on these institutions. She pointed out that violence typically begins with attitudes and behaviors that become normalized before escalating to a police case. To address this, Letsike argued that stories can serve as interventions, aiding audiences in recognizing gender dynamics, relationships, and power structures.

She encouraged creatives to produce narratives that celebrate women's agency and dignity, while also depicting young men displaying nurturing and equal forms of masculinity. Moreover, Letsike advocated for increased representation of marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities, LGBTI communities, and rural women, in these stories.

She underscored that South Africa's constitution enshrines values of dignity, equality, freedom, and non-sexism, which should permeate the nation's culture, homes, relationships, and stories. Panelists Adze Ugah, Pule Buys, Phinah Kodisang, and Keitumetse Moutloatse discussed the role of storytelling in GBVF prevention. Ugah stressed the importance of authenticity in storytelling, noting that violence can manifest in various forms beyond physical harm.

Kodisang emphasized that stories can help people identify harmful behaviors before violence occurs, fostering a move from awareness to action. Moutloatse argued that prevention necessitates a societal examination of social, economic, and political factors contributing to violence, with a focus on challenging harmful expressions of masculinity and patriarchal values.

Buys, an actress in Soul City: Let’s Rise, reflected on the lasting impact of storytelling on her personal life and her decision to establish Within Collective. She stressed that storytelling carries the responsibility of prompting audiences to reflect on their own actions and the environments they inhabit. Letsike concluded by calling on the creative sector and wider society to collaborate in addressing GBVF, stating, "Let this screening be a beginning, not a conclusion.

Let us build healthier relationships and together create a South Africa in which women and girls do not need extraordinary courage simply to live ordinary lives in freedom and in safety."